The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 d.C. stopped forever the life of the city of Pompeii and its inhabitants. Ash and lapilli covered the streets, palaces, public buildings and with the passage of time it has been lost even the memory of that opulent city. After centuries of neglect, from the eighteenth century, from the ground bloom again the splendours of the campanian centre: its homes, its temples, the forum and also the extraordinary scenes of the Villa dei Misteri. The discovery of ruins of Pompeii began in the eighteenth century, thanks to the excavations promoted by Bourbon. The discovery of nearly intact buildings and treasures of all kinds immediately attracted scholars and artists of international renown, as the historian of art Winckelmann and the poet Goethe. The constant interest in this extraordinary site in 1860 led to the first systematic excavations conducted by Giuseppe Fiorelli. The area excavation has brought to light the ancient Roman city that was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79. Despite the city was seriously damaged, it was immediately began with the reconstruction of Pompeii. 17 years later, when the work still continued and many public buildings had yet to be restored, the citizens lived one of the greatest tragedies of ancient history. Today, the area is the 2. archaeological site most visited worldwide.

top

By the elegant and famous Via Condotti, you can reach the PIAZZA DI SPAGNA. The first thing that strikes one is the charming, monumental flight of steps (1772) whose sinuous lines harmoniously follow the slope of the hill. At its feet is the graceful Fountain of the Little Boat by P. Bernini. On the right, in the next square, Piazza Mignanelli, is the column of the Immaculate Conception, a monurnent crected to commemorate the proclarnation of the Dogma (1856). At the top of the Spanish steps is the Church of the TRINITA DEI MONTI, with its two cupolas ( 1495), and in front of its facade is an obelisk, which was taken from the Sallustian ... continue